Tech Literacy Attendees Go Far Beyond IT
10 years ago, who would’ve predicted that taxi drivers would need to worry about the growth of smart-phones? Or that the President of the United States would need to consider web design and data management? Not many of us. But today, Uber is valued at more than $50B, and Healthcare.gov caused the Whitehouse to put in some serious overtime in order to get one of the President’s top initiatives back on track. The truth is, here in the U.S., technology affects everyone and waits for no one. At Eventbrite, we provide registration for tens of thousands of technology events every year—from classes on how to use Photoshop to massive conferences and fairs like TechCrunch Disrupt and MakerFaire. As a platform for these types of events, we’re uniquely positioned to deliver insight on how people use tech events to stay current, and to understand who attends these gatherings. We looked at nearly 70,000 tech-focused events on our platform and surveyed more than 3,000 attendees of “Tech Literacy Events” (events where learning about tech topics was the primary benefit to attendees) to understand a bit more about the people that are helping tech events thrive. What we found in the data delivered a few surprises.
Live Learning Tops Tech Events 86% of the technology events we analyzed had programming intended to help attendees learn about tech topics. Of those learning-focused events, 68% were a class, workshop, or an event with a featured speaker—indicating learning about technology is a primary motivation for tech event attendees. 1
22 22% Classes
86%
18%
Formats
Conference
46%
Meeting Group Featured Speaker
14%
Share of Tech Events
Mix of Tech
focused on Tech Literacy
Literacy event formats
Attendee Demographics Shatter Tech Stereotypes Counter to the casting on HBO’s hit show Silicon Valley, attendees of tech events aren’t just men in their 20’s who code. The mix of people attending tech events flies in the face of traditional stereotypes about “techie types” with attendees on our platform skewing female, and nearly 50% of respondents reporting being over 40 years old. 2
23% Under 30
45%
Gender
55%
Female Male
49%
Age
30 to 40 Over 40
28%
1 Source: Eventbrite internal data on US based technology events from 1/2013 through 12/2014 2 Source: Survey of Eventbrite Tech Literacy event attendees; May 2015
Tech Literacy Attendees Go Far Beyond IT Demonstrating the importance of technology across all professional fields, 60% of event attendees work in a profession not traditionally considered a “tech job.” 3 While the single largest professional group represented among attendees was Information Technology, Marketing and Sales professionals were not far behind. This may be due in part to the rapid expansion of specialized software for tracking leads, and the proliferation of new advertising technology tools. #AdTech!
Top Professions of Tech Event Attendees
16% 14% 10% 09% IT Management
Marketing or Sales
Research & Development
Engineering
07% 07% 07% Entrepreneur
Education
Management
4
Meet Me in the Middle 50% of the classes and workshops attended by respondents were targeted towards those with an Intermediate skill level. This is a great reminder to organizers that significant demand exists for people looking to build upon their existing skills.
Target Skill Level of Classes and Workshops 29%
Beginners
29%
Beginners
51%
Intermediate
17%
Advanced
4%
3 For the purposes of this report “tech jobs” means IT/MIS, Engineering, or R&D 4 Source: Survey of Eventbrite Tech Literacy event attendees; May 2015
Mixed Skill Level
Motivated by More than Money While attendees reported a number of career related motives for attending tech events, 64% of those surveyed also said they had a personal interest in learning more about the topics covered in the events. So while professional development is important, it is not the sole motivating factor driving tech event attendance.
Why Did You Attend a Tech Event?
64% 55% 49% Personal Interest in the Topic
Build Skills Needed for Current Job
Networking
46% 15% Build Skills Needed for a Promotion
Build Skills Needed to Switch Careers 5
Employers Will Pay for Tech Employers seem to understand the importance of continued education around technology; 66% of respondents indicated that their employer picked up at least some of the costs related to their attendance at tech events. Charge it to the company card!
Who Paid for the Event?
5 Source: Survey of Eventbrite Tech Literacy event attendees; May 2015
39%
My employer paid for all the events I attended
35%
I paid for all the events I attended
26%
I paid some costs, my employer paid others
Big Tech Communities Create Big Tech Cities Beyond tech event attendees, we also looked at which cities hosted the most tech events, as well as which cities had the fastest year-over-year growth of tech events. The metros that made the top of our lists clearly enjoy strong tech communities; many know that New York City and San Francisco have a serious tech rivalry with some even referring to NYC as “Silicon Alley.” Fun story: in an effort to bolster their tech talent pool back in 2011, New York City held a competition for the best proposal to build a new applied sciences and technology campus. Cornell eventually edged out Stanford (among others) for the right to build a new campus in the city. Your move, Stanford. Other tech hubs that pop to the top of our list cities with the most tech events include Washington D.C. and Austin, Texas, both cities with vibrant tech and startup communities. Perhaps more interesting is the fastest-growing list, which features Las Vegas (home of Zappos and the International CES convention), Cambridge (home to MIT and Harvard), Portland (known to some as “Silicon Forest”), Atlanta (home to Georgia Tech), and Indianapolis (home to ExactTarget, which was acquired by Salesforce for $2.5B in 2013).
Most Events
1
2
3
4
5
New York
San Francisco
Chicago
Washington D.C.
Austin
Fastest Growing YOY
1
2
3
4
5
Las Vegas
Cambridge
Portland
Atlanta
Indianapolis
6 Source: Eventbrite internal data on US based technology events from 1/2013 through 12/2014
So What Does this Mean for Tech Event Organizers? Put Learning Front and Center - 86% of tech events have a learning component, with Classes, Workshops, and Seminars making up almost 70% of those events. Attendees of tech events have a clear desire to learn; Event organizers should consider educational content a required component of any event programming. Tech Event Attendees are Diverse - Tech attendees span all age groups, are close to evenly split male/female, and work in a variety of functions. When promoting your event, recognize that you can increase attendance by targeting broader demographics. Don’t Be Afraid to Charge - With two-thirds of attendees saying that their company helped pay the bill for their event fees, don’t be afraid to charge for your tickets. The attendees of your events and their companies value what you have to offer. So go ahead and charge for the value you’re providing.
w
About Eventbrite Eventbrite is the global marketplace for live experiences that allows people to find and create events. Since 2006, the self-service platform has helped event organizers of all kinds to sell more tickets through robust technology and promotional tools, totaling $3.5 billion in gross ticket sales. In addition to providing technology for organizers, Eventbrite has become the destination for consumers looking to discover a variety of live experiences from small photography and yoga classes to large concerts and festivals with tens of thousands of attendees. More than 200 million tickets have been processed on the platform, and in 2014 alone, Eventbrite processed $1.5 billion in gross ticket sales for attendees in more than 180 countries. Eventbrite investors include Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global and T. Rowe Price. Learn more at www.eventbrite.com.
© Eventbrite, 2015. All Rights Reserved.
Live Learning Tops Tech Events 86% of the technology events we analyzed had programming intended to help attendees learn about tech topics. Of those learning-focused events, 68% were a class, workshop, or an event with a featured speaker—indicating learning about technology is a primary motivation for tech event attendees. 1
22 22% Classes
86%
18%
Formats
Conference
46%
Meeting Group Featured Speaker
14%
Share of Tech Events
Mix of Tech
focused on Tech Literacy
Literacy event formats
Attendee Demographics Shatter Tech Stereotypes Counter to the casting on HBO’s hit show Silicon Valley, attendees of tech events aren’t just men in their 20’s who code. The mix of people attending tech events flies in the face of traditional stereotypes about “techie types” with attendees on our platform skewing female, and nearly 50% of respondents reporting being over 40 years old. 2
23% Under 30
45%
Gender
55%
Female Male
49%
Age
30 to 40 Over 40
28%
1 Source: Eventbrite internal data on US based technology events from 1/2013 through 12/2014 2 Source: Survey of Eventbrite Tech Literacy event attendees; May 2015
Tech Literacy Attendees Go Far Beyond IT Demonstrating the importance of technology across all professional fields, 60% of event attendees work in a profession not traditionally considered a “tech job.” 3 While the single largest professional group represented among attendees was Information Technology, Marketing and Sales professionals were not far behind. This may be due in part to the rapid expansion of specialized software for tracking leads, and the proliferation of new advertising technology tools. #AdTech!
Top Professions of Tech Event Attendees
16% 14% 10% 09% IT Management
Marketing or Sales
Research & Development
Engineering
07% 07% 07% Entrepreneur
Education
Management
4
Meet Me in the Middle 50% of the classes and workshops attended by respondents were targeted towards those with an Intermediate skill level. This is a great reminder to organizers that significant demand exists for people looking to build upon their existing skills.
Target Skill Level of Classes and Workshops 29%
Beginners
29%
Beginners
51%
Intermediate
17%
Advanced
4%
3 For the purposes of this report “tech jobs” means IT/MIS, Engineering, or R&D 4 Source: Survey of Eventbrite Tech Literacy event attendees; May 2015
Mixed Skill Level
Motivated by More than Money While attendees reported a number of career related motives for attending tech events, 64% of those surveyed also said they had a personal interest in learning more about the topics covered in the events. So while professional development is important, it is not the sole motivating factor driving tech event attendance.
Why Did You Attend a Tech Event?
64% 55% 49% Personal Interest in the Topic
Build Skills Needed for Current Job
Networking
46% 15% Build Skills Needed for a Promotion
Build Skills Needed to Switch Careers 5
Employers Will Pay for Tech Employers seem to understand the importance of continued education around technology; 66% of respondents indicated that their employer picked up at least some of the costs related to their attendance at tech events. Charge it to the company card!
Who Paid for the Event?
5 Source: Survey of Eventbrite Tech Literacy event attendees; May 2015
39%
My employer paid for all the events I attended
35%
I paid for all the events I attended
26%
I paid some costs, my employer paid others
Big Tech Communities Create Big Tech Cities Beyond tech event attendees, we also looked at which cities hosted the most tech events, as well as which cities had the fastest year-over-year growth of tech events. The metros that made the top of our lists clearly enjoy strong tech communities; many know that New York City and San Francisco have a serious tech rivalry with some even referring to NYC as “Silicon Alley.” Fun story: in an effort to bolster their tech talent pool back in 2011, New York City held a competition for the best proposal to build a new applied sciences and technology campus. Cornell eventually edged out Stanford (among others) for the right to build a new campus in the city. Your move, Stanford. Other tech hubs that pop to the top of our list cities with the most tech events include Washington D.C. and Austin, Texas, both cities with vibrant tech and startup communities. Perhaps more interesting is the fastest-growing list, which features Las Vegas (home of Zappos and the International CES convention), Cambridge (home to MIT and Harvard), Portland (known to some as “Silicon Forest”), Atlanta (home to Georgia Tech), and Indianapolis (home to ExactTarget, which was acquired by Salesforce for $2.5B in 2013).
Most Events
1
2
3
4
5
New York
San Francisco
Chicago
Washington D.C.
Austin
Fastest Growing YOY
1
2
3
4
5
Las Vegas
Cambridge
Portland
Atlanta
Indianapolis
6 Source: Eventbrite internal data on US based technology events from 1/2013 through 12/2014
So What Does this Mean for Tech Event Organizers? Put Learning Front and Center - 86% of tech events have a learning component, with Classes, Workshops, and Seminars making up almost 70% of those events. Attendees of tech events have a clear desire to learn; Event organizers should consider educational content a required component of any event programming. Tech Event Attendees are Diverse - Tech attendees span all age groups, are close to evenly split male/female, and work in a variety of functions. When promoting your event, recognize that you can increase attendance by targeting broader demographics. Don’t Be Afraid to Charge - With two-thirds of attendees saying that their company helped pay the bill for their event fees, don’t be afraid to charge for your tickets. The attendees of your events and their companies value what you have to offer. So go ahead and charge for the value you’re providing.
w
About Eventbrite Eventbrite is the global marketplace for live experiences that allows people to find and create events. Since 2006, the self-service platform has helped event organizers of all kinds to sell more tickets through robust technology and promotional tools, totaling $3.5 billion in gross ticket sales. In addition to providing technology for organizers, Eventbrite has become the destination for consumers looking to discover a variety of live experiences from small photography and yoga classes to large concerts and festivals with tens of thousands of attendees. More than 200 million tickets have been processed on the platform, and in 2014 alone, Eventbrite processed $1.5 billion in gross ticket sales for attendees in more than 180 countries. Eventbrite investors include Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global and T. Rowe Price. Learn more at www.eventbrite.com.
© Eventbrite, 2015. All Rights Reserved.
